


Stories of Yuri

by aquietdin



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-26 19:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3861757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquietdin/pseuds/aquietdin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Flynn told me many stories about you, Yuri.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stories of Yuri

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place between First Strike and the game.

Being assigned to protective detail wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it did take Flynn by surprise. He’d been promoted to sergeant not a week before, and his new assignment involved guarding royalty. It was a heavy weight, but steel grows stronger in the hottest fire, he supposed.

His charge would be the young princess, the new precautions following a suspected assassination plot. Other brigades would be handling the investigation, while Flynn and his two new recruits would take care of her highness. He would only need to attend to her until the instigators were discovered.

Flynn had only caught a glimpse of the princess before their formal introduction. He bowed to her, a tiny girl of barely fifteen. She ducked her head in return, all bright green eyes and warm smiles. He was a bit worried that Estellise would turn out to be the kind of spoiled princess he’d heard the wives bicker about in the lower quarter, but within a few days, he learned of the depths of her kindness.

His duties were simple; escort her majesty around the castle, attend luncheons and meetings by her side, keep her company. They had tea together nearly every day, and he learned much about the young heir. She loved birds, old maps, and books. Estellise seemed to have a new book with her every week, thick novels with worn leather covers. She would recount the stories within them to Flynn with light in her eyes, clasping her hands together as she summarized fairy tales and love stories.

The time spent with the princess proved to be refreshing. Her innocence and compassion was something he saw little of in the rest of the world around him.

One day in their third week together, Flynn was laughing softly at another one of Estellise’s stories when she went quiet, setting down her teacup.

“Flynn?”

He copied her motions, worried at her serious tone. “Yes, your majesty?”

Estellise wrung her hands for a moment. “We’ve been talking for weeks now, yet I know almost nothing about you.” There was a pleading in her eyes. “Won’t you tell me about yourself?”

Flynn’s skin flashed cold. His mind quickly queued up a long line of regulations, rules, lists of acceptable behaviors. And there were many, he was sure, about speaking too plainly to royalty. Even if she was just a girl. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other guard, close enough to monitor their conversation.

“I don’t know if that would be appropriate, your majesty,” he said, his words careful and low.

Estellise’s face fell, and she looked away. “I see.” She fiddled with one of her jeweled earrings a she continued. “It’s just that this is the first time I’ve really had someone to talk to.”

He could hear the sadness in her voice, and it pained him. She was a prisoner in this castle, her books her only window to the world outside. It wasn’t fair. Yet sharing information about himself, however trivial, could be viewed as attempted fraternization. And that could ruin his career. Still, he hated to see how her shoulders slumped at his words.

“I grew up in the lower quarter,” Flynn offered after a long silence.

The princess perked up, her smile returning. “Really? That’s very impressive. I’ve been told that conditions in the lower quarter are… difficult.”

Flynn sat up, trying to smile. “It can be.”

“Did you live there with your family?”

A pang in his chest. “I’m an orphan, your majesty.”

“…Oh.” The princess covered her mouth briefly. “I’m sorry.”

Flynn shook his head, smiling. “Please, don’t worry. I had friends by my side.”

Estellise leaned forward in her chair, her eyes shining the way they did when she talked about one of her books. “What was that like? Are you still in contact with them?”

Blinking, Flynn immediately thought of Yuri. Foul-mouthed, crass, impatient, reckless. His oldest friend, and the closest thing he had to family. And the absolute last person he would want to introduce the princess to. But the thought of Yuri gave Flynn an idea; he could avoid any potential complications or rumors about his involvement with the princess by telling her stories of his friend instead of himself.

Highly edited stories, of course, but it would allow them to chat without arousing suspicions.

“Yes,” he responded, feeling relieved at his new plan. “We’re still friends.”

After that day, talking with Estellise became easier. She would still tell him about her books, and in return, he would pick out a memory to recount. They always focused around Yuri, though Flynn would carefully omit the more inappropriate bits. He told her of the time Yuri saved the rappigglet from the market, determined to keep the animal from being someone’s dinner. He told her of their games of hide and seek in which Yuri was a master hider, and how his old friend would stand up to thugs, even as a small child. Tales of laundry blown away in the wind, of their first snowfall, and the one time the barrier went dark, but instead of fear, they marveled at seeing the stars clearly for the first time.

Estellise would always listen intently, giggling at Yuri’s antics, nodding for him to continue. The stories always brightened her mood, and Flynn thought maybe it helped her cope with her captivity. Even after the danger to her life had ended, Flynn continued to meet with Estellise, sharing stories of Repede, being accepted into the knights, and Yuri’s odd talent for baking. Months rolled by, but he never seemed to run out of tales.

“You seem very close to him,” Estellise commented one day. Flynn nodded without missing a beat.

“Yuri has his faults, but he has always been my best friend.”

“Oh?” The princess seemed surprised at that, lifting her chin from where it rested in her palm. “I thought -” She stopped short, folding her hands in her lap.

Flynn eyed her. “Is something amiss, your majesty?”

Estellise shook her head, letting a gentle smile blossom on her face. “It’s nothing. I do hope I can meet Yuri someday.”

“If you do,” Flynn said with a laugh, “You should be careful.”

She nodded, and later they parted ways. Flynn noticed the sly smile the princess would gain whenever he mentioned Yuri after that. But what it was for, he couldn’t imagine.


End file.
